About

I am Axel J. Sannino, a Paris-based filmmaker and storyteller. At the age of 20, I left my philosophy studies at the University of La Sorbonne to focus on filmmaking. I began working regularly with the fashion industry and started a successful collaboration with the French jeweler Arthus-Bertrand.

After Trump’s election, I worked on a six-minute film called Political Statement (2017), which questions the impact of violent images. The film was exhibited at Le Coeur, a Parisian gallery, with synchronized large images projected on three walls to create an immersive experience. That same year, I was spotted by Nelly Rodi, the famous Parisian trend agency, as one of the promising talents in the fashion industry. Following my successful exhibition, I collaborated with the UN Women’s movement HeForShe on an event for gender equality at Les Arts Décoratifs. I wrote my first personal short film about a love triangle, Boyfriends (2017), which will be screened at Hotel Le Pigalle in Paris. That same year, I co-founded a creative agency called Boyfriends, with nine other content creators, aimed at producing quality content for fashion brands and nonprofit organizations.

In 2018, I worked on the screenplay for my first drama short film titled Jerk Off, a reflection on the fashion industry, the obsession with nudity on social media, and the lack of commitment from the audience to what they watch. Brutal, explicit, unapologetic, and political, Jerk Off is written as a wake-up call and embodies everything that defines my work. Filming started in 2019 in a Parisian hotel, and the film is currently in post-production.

Passionate about shaping a visual universe, I have also worked on multiple graphic identities for brands. In 2020, I created the visual identity for the French podcast studio Mauvaises Têtes, mostly known for Flamboyantes, a podcast about French Drag Queens and Kings. That same year, I co-founded the Heaven Club, a disco nightclub party in Paris, and handled the brand identity for the event. I worked as a Creative Director for a tech startup for two years, completely reshaping the brand and visual identity, including a new website, communication visuals, and a new app UI design.

I am currently working on the editing of Jerk Off while writing a narrative scripted podcast called Sixteen and my first full-length film, The Holy Twelve. At the same time, I’m collaborating with multiple clients as a content creator. Here are some of them: